Water is a basic necessity to sustain all life. Every living thing on the planet, animal and plant, needs water to survive. As such, the need for clean, pure water will never decrease. In fact, as populations grow, the need for clean, pure water will only increase. Recently, society has begun to focus more on the purity of water for both drinking and other applications. The recent success of the bottled water industry conclusively shows that the desire for pure water is increasing within the population. Pure water is bottled by a multitude of manufacturers and is sold in many places throughout the world. Demand for pure bottled water is increasing and shows no signs of waning.
It is widely accepted that drinking water as opposed to other liquids, even those based on water, has many health benefits. The medical community in the United States periodically issues statements that indicate the average person does not drink enough water. Unlike soda, milk, and other beverages, water is available to most people simply by turning on a faucet. Despite this wide availability of potable water, most people simply do not drink enough.
Typically, a local utility company provides potable water to people. The utility company is generally responsible for ensuring that the water provided to homes and businesses is clean, pure, and free from harmful organisms. Indeed, many people rely solely on the public water systems to guarantee that the water flowing into their homes and businesses is fit for consumption. Typically, the municipal body responsible for providing water to the populace will have various treatment and purification procedures to help ensure the quality of the water provided to consumers. These systems can include large, industrial scale filters, treatment tanks, and other water processing devices. Unfortunately, sometimes these systems can break down, or these systems can miss a contaminant leaving the treated water with various forms of impurities.
Since water is such a vital part of people's everyday needs, the desire for clean, pure water will continue to grow, and will likely never diminish. Most municipal treatment facilities do an adequate job in cleaning and purifying water, however, there is concern that the municipal systems responsible for providing clean, pure water are simply overworked. Filtration of water on such a large scale can sometimes lead to water that contains particulate filtrate material left over from where the water was originally filtered. Moreover, some of the treatment methods and additive chemicals used in the cleaning and purifying of water can leave the water containing undesirable contaminants, odors, or tastes.
Municipal water treatment systems typically focus on removing various contaminants from water in order to provide clean, potable water for human consumption. Large scale purification of water is designed to reduce or eliminate the concentration of particulate matter including suspended particles, parasites, bacteria, algae, viruses, and fungi. Also, the municipal treatment facilities have apparatuses and methods to remove a wide range of dissolved and particulate material picked up by water from the surfaces the water may have made contact with after falling as rain and flowing to the treatment facility.
In the United States, the government typically sets the standards for drinking water quality. The government requires that various standards designed to ensure the drinking water is safe for consumption are met. In other countries around the world, however, the standards and thresholds for certain contaminants are not as stringent. Thus the warning of “don't drink the water,” in various places around the world. Unfortunately, because many countries do not require the same standards for their water that the United States requires, many of the world's countries have water that contains harmful organisms or other impurities.
According to a 2007 World Health Organization report, 1.1 billion people lack access to an improved drinking water supply. The WHO estimates that 88% of the 4 billion annual cases of diarrheal disease are attributed to unsafe water and inadequate sanitation and hygiene. Further, 1.8 million people die from diarrheal diseases each year. The WHO further estimates that 94% of these diarrheal cases are preventable through modifications to the environment, including access to safe water. The WHO concludes that a few simple techniques for treating water at home, such as chlorination, filters, and solar disinfection, combined with storing it in safe containers could save a huge number of lives each year.
In most cases, it is not possible to tell whether water is of an appropriate quality by visual examination. If water has a cloudy appearance or there are visible particles present, then the water is most likely unsafe to drink. However, many dangerous contaminants are simply too small to be visible to the naked eye. It is impossible to know that the water is clean, pure, and fit to drink simply by looking at it. Thus, some simple procedures such as boiling or the use of a household activated carbon filter have been devised in an attempt to clean and purify water for drinking. Unfortunately, these simple steps are not sufficient for treating all the possible contaminants that may be present in water from an unknown source. Even natural spring water, which in the nineteenth century was considered safe for all practical purposes, must now be tested before determining what kind of treatment, if any, is needed. A chemical analysis of water, while expensive, is the only way to obtain the information necessary for deciding on the appropriate method of purification.
In addition to concerns over the quality of water found in various parts of the world, health professionals are continually espousing the need for people in every country to drink more water. In the United States, a person's choice of available beverages is immense. In addition to water, a consumer in the United States is often confronted with a daunting number of choices of beverages. For example, one can choose soda, milk, fruit juice, energy drinks, beer, wine, or liquor. And, further complicating the matter, there are a multitude of variations on these categories of drinks available to people. With soda alone, one has many choices. Often times, people choose to drink a soda or fruit juice (often times not even made from real fruit) instead of selecting pure water.
One of the reasons people elect to drink beverages other than water are that these other drinks contain salts, caffeine, colors, acids, high fructose corn syrup, and other flavors that tend to entice people. Most of these products are based on water, but contain so many additives that the result is a drink that, while based on water, contains large amounts of unhealthy additives. For example, unlike pure water that has zero calories, zero sugars, and zero sodium in twelve ounces, one twelve-ounce can of cola may have 140 calories, fifty milligrams of sodium, and thirty-nine grams of sugar. These ingredients pose health risks to the average person at large concentrations. Despite the health risks of consuming large amounts of these ingredients, the fact is that to most people, they taste good.
Indeed, water, while undoubtedly very healthy, does not have a distinct taste. Conversely, soda, juice, alcoholic drinks, milk, tea and other drinks have very distinctive tastes that are normally quite appealing to the average person. Moreover, many of the drinks have distinct odors and fragrances that are also appealing to the average person. Recent studies have begun to indicate that a person can even become addicted to ingredients such as sugars and caffeine found in some drinks further influencing that person to select a beverage other than water.
Various efforts to provide additives to water in an effort to increase the appeal of water as a drink have met with reasonable success. Tea, for example, is simply the addition of naturally growing plant matter to hot water. Various ingredients in the plant matter seep into the water thus infusing the water with a pleasant flavor. Many different kinds of teas are now widely available, and people can even combine different teas for their own special blends. Also, the sports drink industry has for years been adding salts and electrolytes to water in an effort to provide a drink that has the benefits of water with the additional benefits found in the salts and electrolytes. However, these prepackaged drinks are already blended and do not provide a means for persons to control the amount of additional substances that are blended with their water.
Various companies have introduced bottled water infused with flavors, vitamins, or other additives. The infused water prepackaged as bottle water, however, has several inherent flaws. The bottles that bottled water is packaged in lead to a significant amount of waste. Either the empty bottles end up in a landfill, or they go through an expensive recycling program. This is a concern to many people who are seeking to minimize detrimental effects on the environment. Further, even if a consumer wanted to purchase bottled water, the consumer is limited to the flavors, minerals, and other additives that the bottled water manufacturer chooses to put in the bottles. Moreover, the consumer is limited to the specific concentration of the flavors or other additives that come prepackaged in the bottled water. Also, a consumer who purchases flavored bottled water has no way of changing the flavor without buying more bottled water. Once the consumer uses up the bottled water, there is no option to reuse the container the bottled water came in to make more flavored water.
Thus, a need exists for a simple, easy to use device that will ensure that a persons' drinking water is clean, pure, does not contain harmful contaminants, and tastes good. More specifically, a need exists for a water filter device capable of residential use or small commercial use that will allow persons to be assured that any contaminants left in water after the municipal treatment of the water are removed prior to drinking and that will also allow a person to add a flavor or ingredient to the filtered water prior to drinking. More particularly, there are growing desires from people for a water filter for use in residences that will provide clean, purified water to the homeowner and allow the homeowner to control additives in the purified water to enhance taste or health benefits. People want a device that will purify the water prior to its consumption, and allow them to add a flavor additive. Further, people want a device that minimizes the detrimental effects on the environment.
Thus, a need exists for a device that is capable of satisfying these various desires. These desires and goals can be achieved by use of a pitcher equipped with a water filter and a device to transfer an additive to the filtered water. A pitcher provides a user with the ability to store the filtered water in a refrigerator, or transport the filtered water from place to place in a convenient vessel.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,670,479 to Arett et al. (“Arett”) discloses and teaches a water pitcher that contains a device for adding additives to water. The Arett device consists of multiple reservoirs that are designed to hold water and additive. When the user picks up the pitcher, the user can activate a pump that will release additive into a receiving vessel along with the water. The additive is kept separate from the water and is never blended while still in the pitcher. Thus, when pouring, the pitcher is actually pouring two liquids, the water and the additive. In another embodiment, the additive is pumped into a second reservoir. As the user tilts the pitcher to pour water out, the additive pours form the second reservoir out of the pitcher as water is poured out of the water reservoir. Again, the additive is not blended with the water while in the pitcher. Arett also discloses that a filter can be incorporated into the pitcher. In this embodiment, Arett teaches that the filter component of the device is used to filter the water prior to addition of the additive in the receiving vessel. Importantly, Arett requires that the pitcher have a surface downstream from the additive dispensing system that is ultrahydrophobic, ultralyophobic, or ultraclean. Arett discloses that this surface keeps the pour spout of the pitcher free from bacteria build up and other contaminants. Arett does not disclose a pitcher that can accommodate mixing an additive with filtered water within the pitcher itself. Rather, the user adds the additive to the receiving vessel as the pitcher is tilted and the water in the pitcher flows out and into the receiving vessel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,724,883 to Usherovich discloses and teaches an apparatus that provides a way to include an additive in filtered water. Specifically, Usherovich discloses and teaches a coffee maker. The device provides a way to route water into the device and expose the water to an additive, in this case coffee. The additive is added to the water and the water is passed through a standard coffee filter before being directed out of the device into a receiving vessel. This device allows the user to complete the addition of the additive prior to the water exiting the device, but the addition of the additive occurs prior to the water being passed through the filter. Moreover, the filter used in this device is simply a standard paper filter and is designed only to remove particulate matter from the water after the coffee additive is added.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,741 to Kirschner et al. (“Kirschner”) discloses and teaches yet another device and method to add an additive to filtered water. Kirschner discloses and teaches a post-mix beverage dispenser typically used for carbonated drinks in restaurants. The device includes a flavor concentrate (the additive) and a carbonator to convert the water into carbonated water. The device also includes a filter where the carbonated water is filtered before the addition of the additive. Kirschner also discloses an agitator and means to refrigerate the water in the reservoir.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,791 to Millman et al. (“Millman”) discloses and teaches a infusion device designed to infuse water with an additive. Millman teaches a vessel that is equipped with a screw-top lid containing a tube that protrudes downwardly into the vessel. A bag containing an additive with a string attached is placed in the vessel and the string is fitted into the tube. The tube ensures that the bag with the additive remains submerged in the water inside the vessel. The device is also equipped with a dispenser for granulated sugar and the like. While this device includes a means to infuse water with an additive, it does not contain a filter. Moreover, the water in the device is not filtered nor does it pass through a filter prior to being poured into a receiving vessel.
While there are methods and devices described in the prior art that allow one to add an additive to filtered water, none of the devices known in the art possesses the advantages of the present invention. Problems with the prior art include the inability to store the filtered water with the additive in a convenient article for home use. Further, the prior art pitcher devices do not allow the mixing of the additive with the filtered water within the pitcher itself. A further problem with the current devices prevalent in the prior art is that the additive is often added prior to filtering the water. Filtering the water after the additive is added is counterproductive, as the filter can remove some of the additive.
Therefore, a need exists for a water pitcher that will filter water and provide a means to add an additive to the filtered water that does not suffer from the disadvantages of water pitchers according to the prior art. Indeed, a water filter pitcher is needed that will allow a user to add an additive to the filtered water and thereby encourage larger consumption of water. Moreover, a need exists for a water filter pitcher that still provides a source of filtered water and allows one to store the water in a refrigerator for repeated uses.